Rubio goes Fake Mean

Rubio: Illegals will pay fines or be deported! Ambassador of Amnesty Marco Rubio argues on Powerline—or rather, “Marco Rubio” argues, since the words are attributed only to his “office”**–that critics overstate the number of new immigrants who would be added by his legalization bill:

There are approximately 11 million illegals currently in the US, and many of them won’t be eligible for legalization (because they haven’t been here long enough, don’t pass background checks, can’t afford the fines, etc.) and will have to be deported. [E.A]

Really? We’re going to deport a significant chunk of the 11 million–and not just because they’ve arrived since 2011 (the cutoff), but because they don’t scratch together enough money (initially, $1,000) for fines? Would Sen. Schumer and Cecilia Munoz go along with this characterization of the legislation? Answer: no. It’s not going to happen. Rubio–and his “office”–are cementing his new national reputation as a dissembler. …

P.S.: Even if Rubio really intended to deport “many’ of the 11M, that wouldn’t work. Why? Because the individuals who know they would be deported–e.g. they came here too recently, they have criminal records or they don’t want to pay the fine- will simply not come forward. They–the “many”–will just stay in the shadows where they are now. That means the bill will not come close to achieving its alleged purpose, which is to bring all current illegals out into the open.

P.P.S.: And how are these mass deportations going to help Republicans woo Latino voters?

What’s the alternative? Don’t pretend you’re suddenly going to deport millions of people. Move to stop the flow of new illegals. When that’s accomplished–e.g. through E-verify, a fence, and a visa-checking system– and when those enforcement mechanisms have survived court challenges, then try to bring illegals out of the shadows. At that point, some years down the road, with the future illegal flow cut off (and “chain migration” curtailed), you can afford to be honest about how mean you are willing to be. Some people will still have to be deported, but not for failing to pay a fine or for losing their job and slipping below 125% of the poverty line (as allegedly would happen under Rubio’s plan). See here and here.

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**-[are you trying to suggest Rubio doesn’t know that much about the details of his own bill?-ed Um … yes. The Powerline list of “rejoinders” is an odd document–it uses the first person and also says things like “Marco would be fine with breaking up the bill.” So if “I’ is not “Marco” who wrote it then?]